Page 161 of The Life of Anna-Tenth Anniversary Edition: Act 1

Alex groaned. “Damn my family for being honorable.” His words slurred together and Aaron knew he wasn’t serious. Honor was practically his middle name.

The waitress brought another beer for Alex and gave him a bright smile. His friend ignoring the buxom brunette told Aaron everything he needed to know about how Alex was feeling. Aaron asked for another beer before she left. He didn’t want to think about all this miserable shit right now. They’d gone out to not think about Anna.

Alex confused the hell out of him. One minute he was “her Master” and the next minute he was going on about her like a forlorn lover. He was miserable. Anna was the only person Aaron could remember that made Alex miserable every time he thought about her.

Thankfully, Tony started talking about a new gun he’d seen in a magazine. It lightened the mood, even though Aaron had little interest in guns.

For the rest of the night, Aaron managed to not think about Anna... much. He’d taken a cab home much later, as had the other guys, and stumbled up to his room to fall face first into his bed. And started thinking about her. Wondering if she was okay. Worrying that she wasn’t. Then worrying she was enjoying herself too much.

He’d been to a Friday evening event once, in Los Angeles. He’d gone with Alex and Travis. It was a big room with guys all over the place having sex with women. A few areas had transformed into mini orgies. The three of them had sat with Brandon, Travis’ dad, who was the L.A. Elder, on his platform. Many girls had come to them throughout the evening. They were all beautiful and very talented. Brandon was a nice guy, too. He didn’t seem to have an evil streak like Devin did. At one point, Brandon had asked Alex if he went to the Gatherings in San Francisco. Alex said no. Brandon hadn’t responded, but the look on his face indicated he wasn’t overly fond of Devin either. Now Aaron knew why.

Eventually, Aaron drifted off into a fitful sleep, only to awaken with a hangover when the sun came up a few hours later.

God, he hoped not every Friday night/‌Saturday morning would be like this. He’d die of a heart attack from the worry.

Was Anna worth it?

Yes, she was. Even if he hadn’t been falling in love with her, which he could admit now, she deserved a friend and lover that wouldn’t hurt her and that she wasn’t afraid of.

By noon, he estimated he’d walked over a mile, pacing first in his room and then downstairs. His roommates laughed at him.

“You never get this worked up about a girl,” Garrett said.

Aaron frowned. “You’d be the same way if she’d looked twice at you at the party.”

“She did look at me twice. Probably would have hooked up if you hadn’t butted in.”

Aaron frowned but didn’t respond. He wasn’t in the mood to fight. Garrett had no idea who Anna was. Let him think what he wanted. He shuddered to think of what would have happened if Garrett had been the one with Anna when Travis started asking her questions. Garrett wouldn’t have understood and Anna could have gotten even more mentally screwed up.

His phone finally rang at 12:57. He knew the exact time because he’d been staring at his phone, wondering if he should try to call her. “Anna!”

“Hi, Aaron. How are you?”

Oh, her sweet voice was wonderful to hear. “Missing you.” He hurried up to his room to grab his car keys. “Are you okay? You sound tired.”

She sighed. “I am. It was... a long night.”

He paused, keys in hand. “You want some company?”

She didn’t answer at first and he held his breath. “Yes. I’d like that.”

He shoved his feet into his shoes and ran back down the stairs. “I’m heading to my car right now. I’ll see you soon.”

“Okay. I can’t wait.”

“Me too.”

Aaron drove with a happy heart. When he was at a stoplight, he dictated a text message to Alex.

Heard from Anna. She’s fine and I’m heading over now.

A few minutes later, he received a text back from his friend.

Thanks.

Aaron laughed at his friend’s apparent nonchalance. He would bet anything he’d been waiting for Aaron’s text with as much anxiety as Aaron had been waiting for Anna’s call.

Fifteen minutes later, he knocked on Anna’s apartment door. When she opened it, he grabbed her and hugged her tight, making her giggle. He picked her up, closed the door with his foot and carried her to her couch, and pulled her into his lap. He nuzzled her hair. It smelled delicious. “I missed you.”

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